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Subjects > Fiction themes > Human qualities & behavior > Caring & caretaking
Subjects > Fiction themes > Legal, courtroom & crime
Subjects > Fiction themes > Legal, courtroom & crime > Murder
Subjects > Fiction themes > Legal, courtroom & crime > Trials, lawsuits
Subjects > Fiction themes > Types of characters > Doctors, physicians
Subjects > Fiction themes > Settings > Rural
Subjects > Fiction themes > Stages of life > Adolescence
Subjects > Fiction themes > Stages of life > Coming of age
Subjects > Fiction themes > Family & friendship > Pregnancy & childbirth
Subjects > Fiction themes > Conflicts & dualities > False accusation
Subjects > 1980s
Subjects > Law > Trial practice > Trials
Subjects > Family & relationships > Pregnancy & childbirth > Midwives
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About This Book:

Title: Midwives

Other Available Formats:
Hardcover, 1997
Hardcover, 1997
Paperback, 1998
Hardcover, 1998
Audio Cassette, 1998
Prebinding, 1999
Audio Cassette, 1999
Compact Disc, 2000
Rocket Edition, 2000
Compact Disc, 2007

Synopsis
Sybil Danforth, an uncertified lay midwife in rural Vermont, gets into trouble when she performs an emergency Caesarian on a minister's wife. Sybil's daughter, Connie, looks back to 1981 to tell the story of the murder trial.

Details
Series:             Oprah's Book Club
Language:        English

Size
Length:        374 Pages
Weight:        0.7 Pounds
Height:         8.3 Inches
Width:          5.3 Inches
Thickness:    1 Inches



Publisher Notes
First Line: Throughout the long summer before my mother's trial began, and then during those crisp days in the fall when her life was paraded publicly before the county--her character lynched, her wisdom impugned--I overheard much more than my parents realized, and I understood more than they would have liked.

"Superbly crafted and astonishingly powerful. . . . It will thrill readers who cherish their worn copies of To Kill A Mockingbird." --People

With a suspense, lyricism, and moral complexity that recall To Kill a Mockingbird and Presumed Innocent, this compulsively readable novel explores what happens when a woman who has devoted herself to ushering life into the world finds herself charged with responsibility in a patient's tragic death.

The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads and failed telephone lines, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Caesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor. But what if--as Sibyl's assistant later charges--the patient wasn't already dead, and it was Sibyl who inadvertently killed her?

As recounted by Sibyl's precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Connie, the ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt except for the fact that all its participants are acting from the highest motives--and the defendant increasingly appears to be guilty. As Sibyl Danforth faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.



Industry Reviews
"Bohjalian blends some provocative moral, medical, and political issues into a classic coming-of-age story....Rich in moral ambiguity, informative to a fault on the methods and politics of childbirth, and perceptive regarding the whipsawing desires and loyalties of a perfectly normal teenage girl: a compelling, complex novel..."
(01/01/1997)
"Connie's story is a coming-of-age tale, in which disturbing incidents awaken a child to the world's complexity and unpredictability....Mr. Bohjalian has done his homework on midwifery and the mechanics of childbirth. he has also landed on a hot topic for baby boomers--the whole question of when alternatives to traditional medicine are beneficial, and when they become dangerous."
(05/04/1997)
"[A] novel which could only have been written by an American....'Midwives' moves beyond being simply a celebration of the joys of the candle-lit birth. And there are other satisfactions--an abundance of medical and legal detail, for those who love such information, and the gentle, rolling rhythms of Bohjalian's prose..."
(December 1997)


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Book Details Summary: The title of this book is Midwives and it was written by Chris Bohjalian. This edition of Midwives is in a Paperback format. This books publish date is October 1998 and it has a suggested retail price of $14.95. There are 374 pages in the book and it was published by Random House Inc. The 10 digit ISBN is 0375706771 and the 13 digit ISBN is 9780375706776. For the most current lowest price, Click Here.